004 What to Do After a Car Accident That’s Not Your Fault

VERONICA:  Welcome to Lawyers in the House.

SARA:  That’s right.

VERONICA:  Right here in Atlanta and is known as a tenacious fighter for her clients, a powerful litigator who recently landed a $4 million judgment for one of her clients.

SARA:  Thank you, Veronica. Thanks for having us.

VERONICA:  Absolutely. And Craig LaChanse, who comes to Atlanta by way of Canada.

CRAIG:  That’s correct, but I’m more or less an Atlanta native. I moved here when I was eight, so I think I kind of adopted the state as my own.

VERONICA:  You have. You’re a UGA grad. A Georgia State grad. And I also know that you had sort of a winding path to come to personal injury law because you used to work for the insurance companies, Craig.

CRAIG:  That’s right.

SARA:  We’re happy to be here.

VERONICA:  Our episode today is focusing on what to and what not to do after an accident.

VERONICA:  Yes.

SARA:  And if the police are telling us it’ll take 2 hours for them to get out there and that’s just not realistic, what can you do.

VERONICA:  So, paint a picture for me. What’s the best-case scenario? Right. Paint a picture for me of what it looks like when I do everything right after an accident.

SARA:  So, you definitely want to call 911 and have the police come out so that they can document everything.

VERONICA:  So, I think the law does say that we are supposed to, if the cars are movable, they should be moved off the side of the road.

CRAIG:  Yeah, that’s correct. In a rear end situation, a rear end collision, it’s maybe not as much of a concern as potentially a lane change case where there’s a dispute as to who had possession of the lane prior to the accident, who came over on who.

VERONICA:  Maybe I don’t want to wait on all of that, though. Or maybe the guy who rear-ended me says, “I don’t have time,” or “I don’t have insurance.”

SARA:  I mean, that’s definitely more common in a less severe accident. If the cars are drivable and everybody is wanting to just get on their way. And I keep coming back to the cellphone. But that’s where I think even if you just take a quick video and ask the other driver to show you their driver’s license, insurance cards, you can get that, take a picture of it.

VERONICA:  You think that you’re being so kind and so understanding and helping somebody else go about their merry way, and you don’t want to wait on the side of the road for an hour, but then you end up up the creek without a paddle.

SARA:  I know I’m guilty of it myself.

VERONICA:  And then you didn’t follow your own advice, but you got video of him on the phone?

SARA:  I did. Okay. Yeah, which helped. And then everything worked out okay. But I was kind of kicking myself because so many times I know that exact scenario doesn’t, but because I had the video, I think that made the difference, if I had needed it.

VERONICA:  Right, and you were able to verify that this person did call. You knew that they were, I’m assuming he was on speakerphone, right?  So, you know he wasn’t talking to a buddy and pretending.

CRAIG:  It depends.

VERONICA:  This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB talking to you about what to do and what not to do after getting into an accident.

CRAIG:  Well, obviously, when the police arrive, you just want to give them an accounting of what happened. And again, it’s going to vary based upon the context. If it’s a rear end collision and you’re at a complete stop at a red light and someone hit you from behind, it’s pretty straightforward. There’s not a lot of necessary investigation that the police are going to do.

VERONICA:  How important is the language that I’m using with the police and with the insurance company, Sara?

SARA:  I think I’d say the language is more important when you’re talking with the insurance company. So, moving on, after the scene of the accident, when you’re dealing with the insurance company, often they will request to do a recorded statement with you.

VERONICA:  All right, so helpful. Really good to know. I’m taking notes as you talk, and I hope that you are too, friends, because this is the stuff that you need to let you know how the law can help you in some of those scary situations that you find yourself in.

VERONICA:  So, I’m not digging into somebody’s bank account?

SARA:  It is highly unlikely. Every case will be different. We talk about it, but I would say the vast majority, we’re talking about insurance coverage paying.

CRAIG: Right, and even in the scenario, let’s say the at fault driver turns out to not be insured. Now, under our laws in Georgia, you would still sue that person in their name.

SARA:  Yeah. And I think another thing people don’t realize is if they are sued, if they’re the ones that are at fault for the accident and they’re sued, part of what

CRAIG:  Right. And that’s free of charge. That’s included in your policy. If you are ever the at fault party for an accident and are sued and are served with a copy of a lawsuit, all you have to do is contact your insurance company, hand over the paperwork, and they’re obligated to provide a defense free of charge to you.

VERONICA:  Okay, that’s what the insurance is for. That’s why I’m making these pricey premium payments.

VERONICA:  They want to tough it out, right?

SARA:  Yes. And I’m asking him, and I kept telling him, you just have to make sure you have this addressed. So, sure enough, turns out he had a major rotator cuff tear and thought he was going to push through it, but ultimately did have to undergo a major surgery. And if he had settled the case in the beginning, the insurance company had offered him a small settlement, that would have been the end of it. You can never go back and reopen it after you’ve made that decision. And often it’s just too early to know the full extent of your injuries.

CRAIG:  Not necessarily. Again, this is real world advice. I always counsel my clients, and again, a lot of our counseling is moving forward if this happens to you again. But my advice always is focus on the police getting an accurate police report created for the accident. Then from there, if you’re in severe pain, go to the emergency room and get checked out. And then once you’re discharged from the emergency room, give us a call.

CRAIG:  Absolutely not. No. It’s very wise to get checked out immediately following an accident. One of the insurance companies have many tactics that they use to defend personal injury claims. But one of their favorite plays is to argue what we call a delay in care, that you waited too long between the date of the accident and when you first seek out medical care. And as a result, they argue there’s no causal connection between the accident and the medical care that you ultimately receive.

VERONICA:  A week, two weeks? That’s too long.

SARA:  I would say that’s too long. Yeah. I mean, the reality is, too often people try to tough it out, and then by the time they realize this is not getting better, I need to make an appointment, they call the doctor’s office, they can’t get in for another two weeks. So, all of a sudden you’re at a point where three weeks or a month has gone by.

VERONICA:  Is this something.. Go on, you were going to say something…

CRAIG:  No, it’s just to dovetail what Sara was saying, especially if you’re trying to get in and see an orthopedic specialist doctor, they’re oftentimes booking two, three weeks out, so it can be challenging. So oftentimes your best avenue to establish the injury is to go to the emergency room because they can see you that day..

VERONICA:  So, is it something that I have to do?

SARA:  I would say yes, ideally. Although I know we all hate to wait at the ER. That’s going to be where you can get the most care if you need it. They can do the CT of the brain. If they do see a bleed or anything, they’re on it instead of the Urgent Care having to refer you or send you in. So, it may save you a double trip.

CRAIG:  Right. And then, as Sara pointed out, Urgent Care is typically going to max out at maybe an X ray.

VERONICA:  Have you had a case where somebody gave you a ring and you were like, why did you wait so long to call me?

CRAIG:  Happens all the time.

SARA:  Yeah, all the time.

VERONICA:  What happens? Can you give me an example? What do you do when that happens?

CRAIG:  Well, it depends.

VERONICA:  Have you ever had anybody call you from out there on the scene?

CRAIG:  Absolutely all the time. What I’ll tell them when the officer arrives is that you need to hang up with me and focus your attention on the officer and give me a call back once you’ve completed your interaction with the police officer, because that’s always going to be paramount over speaking with me.

VERONICA:  Is it hopeless if I waited a week or two?

SARA:  No, absolutely not. And as Craig was saying, kind of the rule of thumb is if it’s a really bad wreck, you see the pictures and you think someone was absolutely injured in that, then maybe it buys us a little bit more time. And I’ve absolutely had cases where under certain circumstances, a client may come and they had the initial ER visit and they reported the really severe neck pain, but then time went by, they just assume it’s going to get better.

VERONICA:  Is this something that I could ever handle without a lawyer?

SARA:  Sometimes, yeah. And so, we have people we always want to give good advice, so we’ll talk about the facts, and that does happen commonly. If we think it’s a case that it doesn’t make sense for us to handle, we’re going to let you know about that and give you some tips on how you can resolve it on your own.

VERONICA:  Okay. And that’s what you do when I call.

CRAIG:  What you got to be careful with is that if you talk to the insurance company before you talk to a lawyer and you indicate that you suffered some sort of injury, you don’t necessarily even have to receive medical care at that point. They will oftentimes try to incentivize you to basically sign a release and settle your case.

VERONICA:  In a recent episode, we talked to one of your colleagues, and he was talking about the fact that he had a client who actually was pressured into agreeing to $1,000 settlement on the way to get medical treatment. They’re like, “We’ll give you $1,000 for your bills.”

VERONICA:  You don’t always know what you’re feeling in that moment.

CRAIG: That’s right. What people need to realize is that $1,000 these days with regard to medical care, especially emergency medical care?  That doesn’t even buy an emergency room visit, that’s not enough money to even get properly checked out.

SARA:  Oh, absolutely, yes. I mean, this is what we’re all paying for with coverage. They absolutely should be paying what that case is worth. We’ll talk about it. Unfortunately, we do have severe injuries, catastrophic injuries and death where there’s inadequate insurance coverage. And so that’s something we have to look at.

VERONICA:  Sara Root and Craig LaChanse. This is Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB.

CRAIG:  Right, and in addition to that, there may be some other coverages available through your personal insurance that would be of benefit to you.

VERONICA:  Know the benefits, get the benefits you paid for, and what’s the number to call if we’ve got a question?

VERONICA:  Thank you so much to Craig LaChanse and Sara Root, the powerful attorneys from a powerful firm, Lawyers in the House on WSB. I am Veronica Waters. Thank you so much for joining us. We are always going to be here for you. Make sure you find us on social at Montlick Law, on YouTube and send us your questions. [email protected].   Thanks so much. See you next time.